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34-492: Assab is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of the ancient city of Arsinoe Epidires . Assab had limited contact with the hinterland, and until the middle of the 19th century it was nothing more than a tiny Afar fishing village with a population of only 100 people and twenty huts. It gained considerable attention on 15 November 1869 when the port of Assab was bought by the Italian missionary Giuseppe Sapeto on behalf of

68-674: A detention centre . Assab has the typical hot desert climate ( Köppen climate classification BWh ) of the Danakil Region. The city's climate is arid and extremely hot, with an extremely low average annual rainfall of 40 mm (1.57 in). Assab experiences high temperatures during both the day and the night, with the annual mean average temperature approaching 31 °C (87.8 °F). 13°01′N 42°44′E  /  13.017°N 42.733°E  / 13.017; 42.733 Arsinoe (Eritrea) Arsinoe ( Ancient Greek : Ἀρσινόη ), sometimes called Arsinoe Epidires ,

102-585: A crowd of 1,500 peasants marched from Dessie to the capital to make the authorities notice the famine in Wollo . They were stopped by police on the outskirts of Addis Ababa and forced to return. Following the Ethiopian revolution , one of the few major encounters between rebels and government forces took place north-west of Dessie in October 1976. Instigated by the local landlord, a large group of peasants marched on

136-572: A new diesel-powered electric power station with a power line to Kombolcha was completed, at a cost of Eth$ 110,000. Intercity bus service is provided by the Selam Bus Line Share Company . Dessie shares Combolcha Airport ( ICAO code HADC, IATA DSE) with neighbouring Kombolcha. Dessie is home to a museum , in the former home of Dejazmach Yoseph Birru. It also has a zawiya of the Qadiriyya order of Islam , which

170-496: A reference to the elation that the comet had made him feel. Though founded and named by Yohannes, Dessie was beyond his dominions, for already in 1878 he recognized Wollo as being under the jurisdiction of Menelik II . Menelik's writ in the province, however, was weak and in 1888 handed its governorship to Ras Mikael . In 1892, Ras Mikael married the daughter of Menelik in the town, thus further integrating Wollo and Shewa . The strategic importance of Dessie became apparent during

204-412: A small settlement, Assab was regarded as a place of promise, Licata described it emotionally in 1884 as the beginning of "great things to come. Beautiful for what it will be when Italy will have made it in truth a colony; it is pleasing in fact because it is a young thing, and touching as an Italian thing." Following the occupation of Massawa in 1885, the settlement inevitably declined. The occupation of

238-717: A total population for Dessie of 97,314 in 20,628 households residing in 17,426 housing units, of whom 45,337 were men and 51,977 were women. The two largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Amhara (92.83%), and the Tigrayan (4.49%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.68% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 94.89%, and 3.79% spoke Tigrinya ; the remaining 0.67% spoke all other primary languages reported. For religion, 60.42% of inhabitants indicated Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 38.5% indicated Islam. Ethnic groups of Dessie in 1994 Dessie

272-472: A treaty of commerce with the Italian government. As a result, the trade between Assab and Shewa soon expanded and by the end of the following year Antonelli was able to bring in 50,000 rifles and 10 million cartridges in exchange for 600 camels bearing gold, ivory and civet. In 1884, the port was visited by the Italian traveler G.B Licata who estimated the population to be 111 Afars , 140 Arabs , 43 Italians, 12 Abyssinians and 10 Somalis . Despite still being

306-480: Is 400 km to the north of the capital Addis Ababa . It has a population of more than 200,000 people in over 30 wards . Prior to Dessie's foundation, the major settlement in this area was Wasal, mentioned in an early 16th-century Italian itinerary. Dessie was founded by Emperor Yohannes IV who was camping in the highlands to the west of the Chefa Valley in 1882 on an expedition to forcefully convert

340-600: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dessie Dessie ( Amharic : ደሴ , romanized :  Däse ; also spelled Dese or Dessye ) is a town in north-central Ethiopia . Located in the South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region , it sits at a latitude and longitude of 11°8′N 39°38′E  /  11.133°N 39.633°E  / 11.133; 39.633 , with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 metres above sea level. Dessie

374-445: Is located at an altitude of 2,470 metres (8,100 ft) above sea level in low-shrouded mountains and hills. Dessie has a subtropical highland climate ( Cwb ) bordering on a humid subtropical climate ( Cwa ). Dessie is located along Ethiopian Highway 2 . It has postal service (a post office was established in the 1920s), and telephone service from at least as early as 1954. The city has had electrical power since at least 1963 when

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408-616: The First Italo-Ethiopian War , when the Emperor and his forces passed through the town on their way and from Tigray. Dessie's location led to the telegraph line constructed between 1902 and 1904 from Asmara south to Addis Ababa, passing through the city, and giving it a local telegraph office. Also in 1904, the Italian Giuseppe Bonaiuti took part in constructing a fair-weather road connecting

442-584: The Muslims who lived in the region to Christianity. As he was looking for a place to centralize his power in Wollo , he stayed overnight in a pre-existing town that is now contained within Dessie. While there, he spotted a comet. He was so impressed by the sight of it that he interpreted it to be a sign from heaven to found his capital city there. A similar story to Zara Yaqob 's founding of his capital, Debre Birhan . Thus, he named it Dessie (Amharic: "My Joy"), as

476-548: The Rubattino Shipping Company . Upon reaching Assab, Sapeto found two sultans, the brothers Hasan ibn Ahmed and Ibrahim ibn Ahmed, who were both willing to sell the port for 6,000 Maria Theresa dollars. Sapeto justified his purchase by claiming that the port was ideally situated for Italy due to its proximity to the Bab-el-Mandeb and he also argued that the port, though nominally under the control of

510-462: The defeat of his father Negus Mikael, Lij Iyasu took refuge in Dessie beginning on 8 November 1916 while unsuccessfully seeking support from Ras Wolde Giyorgis and other major nobles of northern Ethiopia. However, Ras Wolde Giyorgis used these overtures to extract concessions from the central government, then marched on Dessie which Lij Iyasu fled 10 December. During the Italian invasion , Dessie

544-420: The public domain :  Smith, William , ed. (1854–1857). "Arsinoe". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray. 12°42′35″N 43°07′52″E  /  12.70986°N 43.13109°E  / 12.70986; 43.13109 This Eritrea location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an Ancient Greek colony, settlement, or region

578-598: The French at Djibouti . The completion of the Ethio-Djibouti Railways led to further decline in trade passing through Assab. In the absence of any significant trade from the inland, the settlement depended on salt production which was exported to Japan , as well as some nearby date plantations. The population during this time period was estimated to be between 1,000 and 3,000 inhabitants with 100 to 140 Italians. A 1922 British War Office report stated that

612-520: The area in 1882 and took steps to open up the route inland to Shewa . Count Pietro Antonelli  [ it ] , the Italian envoy to Menelik II , signed a contract with the Ethiopian ruler, agreeing to supply him with 2,000 Remington rifles which were imported via Assab. Antonelli also visited Aussa in 1883 where he was able to befriend the Afar sultan, Muhammad Hanfari and he convinced him to sign

646-810: The black children in the winding lanes give the fascist salute". After the Second Italo-Ethiopian War the development of Assab was given a new impetus by the building of a road to Dessie and the reconstruction of the port. Assab was one of the last Italian holdouts to surrender to the Allies during the East African Campaign . Assab was captured on 11 June 1941 by the 3/15th Punjab Regiment, which captured its entire garrison including its commander, Pietro Piacentini . After Eritrea's federation with Ethiopia in 1952 (and incorporation in 1962), Assab became an important port of entry for

680-622: The city surrendered 26 April 1941 to Brigadier Pienaar's 1st South African Brigade and 500 Ethiopian arbegnoch , and after the Second World War , the town continued in importance as the capital of the province of Wollo until the province's abolition in 1995. In a decree of 1942, Dessie is listed as one of only six "Schedule A" municipalities in Ethiopia, while there were about a hundred in "Schedule B". Artist Essaye Gebre-Medhin Fikre

714-472: The city to Addis Ababa . Dessie increased in importance when Ras Mikael , son-in-law to Emperor Menelik II , made it his base. The city was where his son, would-be emperor Lij Iyasus , crowned Mikael negus around 1915. During his residence in Dessie, the Negus built a palace and the church Enda Medhane Alem. The church is decorated with paintings which include portraits of Ras Mikael and his son. After

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748-467: The city; troops of the Derg fired into the crowd. Reports of the death toll vary widely, from several hundred to nearly a thousand. The EPRDF took permanent control of the city on 18 May 1990, as part of Operation Wallelign . On 30 October 2021 it was reported that Dessie fell to TPLF aligned forces. On December 6, 2021, the Ethiopian government announced that Dessie and Kombolcha had been retaken from

782-682: The countries, which saw forces from Qatar acting as mediators in a buffer zone, the role of Assab diminished further. During the Tigray War , the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) accused Ethiopia of deploying drones from a military base in Assab belonging to the United Arab Emirates . Assab is served by Assab International Airport . The United Arab Emirates reportedly uses the port and airport for logistics, and as

816-550: The more northernly town provided the Italians with a much larger port that gave them easier access to Ethiopia. The port's firearm trade with Shewa also broke down due to the outbreak of hostilities with Menelik II . After the disastrous Battle of Adwa , Assab was largely forgotten and the Italians concentrated their interest on Massawa. By the early years of the 20th century, the port of Assab had been rendered redundant. Ethiopia, suspicious of Italy, preferred to do business with

850-465: The port for two-thirds of its trade with the world until the Eritrean–Ethiopian War broke out in 1998. Borders between Eritrea and Ethiopia closed and trade with Ethiopia ceased. The port and the port town declined and by 2005 the population had dropped to an estimated 20,222 inhabitants. In 2008, following a border dispute with neighbouring Djibouti and consequently an unsafe border between

884-615: The rebel fighters. Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Dessie woreda had a total population of 151,174, of whom 72,932 were men and 78,242 were women; 120,095 people or 79.44% were urban inhabitants living in the town of Dessie, while the rest of the population (31,079 people) were in the rural kebeles around Dessie. For religion, 58.62% of inhabitants indicated Islam , 39.92% indicated Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity . The 1994 national census reported

918-530: The settlement was no more than a small village and consisted of "less than a hundred round grass huts of the native population with a few European built houses and a modest custom house". The rise of fascism seems to have made an impression as the British traveller Hermann Norden observes "even without a sight of the flag from the Government buildings the traveller would know he was in an Italian possession, for

952-509: The southern and central parts of the country. Assab was further expanded by construction work, with aid from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia during the reign of Haile Selassie I . Construction of an oil refinery began in 1964 and it opened in 1967. This development motivated a large number of Ethiopian immigrants from Tigray and Wollo , to seek jobs as dock workers or work in the salt and fishing industries. The Derg military regime

986-527: The sultan of Aussa , was in fact its own independent polity. Nevertheless, the purchase received considerable controversy in Italy where it was opposed by both the press and the parliament but also attracted strong condemnation by the Egyptians who declared the sale to be illegal. The Italian government, impressed by the possibility of developing the port for access to Ethiopia further inland, seized control of

1020-576: Was an ancient city of the Avalitæ , at Dire promontory in Eritrea , north of Berenice Epideires , and near the entrance of the Red Sea ( Bab-el-Mandeb ). The city was founded by Ptolemy II and named for Arsinoe II of Egypt , his wife and sister. Its location is near the modern-day city of Assab , in Eritrea . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in

1054-545: Was born in Dessie in 1949. He gained a B.A. in Addis Ababa and an M.A. in Paris but was self-taught as an artist. In 1955, a public address system was installed in the central square which was used to re-broadcast announcements on Radio Addis Ababa to the public. In 1957, Dessie had one of 9 provincial secondary schools (excluding Eritrea) in Ethiopia, named after Woizero Sehine the daughter of Negus Mikael. In February 1973,

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1088-399: Was eager to detach Assab from the rest of Eritrea adminstratively, espesically as nationalist sentiments among the Afar began to grow in the 1970s. Ethiopian trade in Assab increased to over 60% as war in other parts of Eritrea made other ports unsuitable. By 1989, Assab had a population of 39,600 inhabitants. The oil refinery was shut down for economic reasons in 1997. Ethiopia used Assab as

1122-720: Was first bombed 6 December 1935; the American Hospital was one of the buildings damaged in the attack. Emperor Haile Selassie was photographed personally machine-gunning the raiding planes. The city was occupied by the Italians 15 April 1936. Dessie became an important administrative center under the Italian occupation , and the Franciscans established, in 1937, the Latin Catholic missionary Apostolic Prefecture of Dessié , which would be suppressed in 1957 after its only prefect's death. The Italian garrison of

1156-494: Was the first Sufi order to be introduced into north-east Africa. Dessie is a part of the Wello region, thus having a similar style of cultural clothing, music, and dances to other cities in the former Wollo Province . Men's traditional clothing is, mostly, similar to the rest of the Amhara region 's. Women's traditional clothing includes a habesha kemis, which is a dress, as well as a matching scarf, sometimes two, one tied around

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